Biohistory journal, Autumn, 2006

Biohistory journal, Autumn, 2006: Index > Creating the Biohistory Journal in an effort to combine knowledge and beauty

Creating the Biohistory Journal in an effort to combine knowledge and beauty

Tokindo Okada and Keiko Nakamura

That is a matter of intuition Nakamura:   We were fortunate to receive very good advice from you when we began formulating the concept for the JT Biohistory Research Hall. When it became a reality, we asked you to become the director, though to be honest, we thought you would turn us down. But you accepted right away. What were you thinking of in that instant? Okada:   I’m not so smart, so I can’t use my brain (laughs). The important things are decided in an instant. The concept behind the JT Biohistory Research Hall matched my initial instinctive feeling for it. Nakamura:   Instinct is really important, isn’t it? But today, people give primacy to data. People aren’t convinced unless there’s been a survey. Okada:   Well, there’s really nothing you can do with the subject of questionnaires. But there are people nowadays who say we should stop using questionnaires altogether. That would be worse than violating the Constitution.

Do you understand or not? Okada:   People who are particularly intelligent have poor intuitive skills. Twentieth century science focused on whether something was understood or not, rather than the beauty of nature. The phrase “I understood” is about as useless as a questionnaire (laughs). Nakamura:   Recently people deal with everything by saying they understand it or that it’s useful. It would be dangerous if that continues. There’s no future in it. That’s despite the importance of a specialist’s focus on the broad range of knowledge that which is not understood, which itself only becomes apparent after one thing is understood. Beauty is also essence, and that’s important.

Science and art, more dead than alive Okada:   The JT Biohistory Research Hall is not a place for grinding away at research until something is understood. This has a broader spirit. There is heart. I really like ghosts (laughs). Nakamura:   It’s the core. When you deny something unseen, you wipe out imagination. Knowledge is given shape by the ability to share imagination with many people. Okada:   Science has become such an issue of understanding that imagination is disappearing. What a waste of time! But I’m no longer in the thrall of science.

Expressing science in language Nakamura:   It’s been our hope that tastefulness do not disappear from scholarship. While they are inherent in nature and living creatures, we’ve wanted to consider the future of the Biohistory Journal with science as the foundation. Prof. Okada, what do you think is new and interesting about knowledge now? Okada:   There is one thing. That exceeds my abilities, however. Words are the basis of human communication. There are many things in science that cannot be verbalized, but biology fits in with language, so it has been held in contempt. But what if science were truly verbalized? Nakamura:   A work that verbalizes science…neither enlightenment nor education.

Expression in the original Japanese language Okada:   Of the several thousand languages in the world, which is best suited to the verbalization of biology? Nakamura:   Probably the original Japanese language. It should certainly be able to express the bounty of nature in this country, and the emotions of living people. I think it would be suitable for today’s Biohistory Journal. Okada:   Just at a glance, it’s non-scientific aspects are commendable.

Entertainment is a major assignment Nakamura:   Since this is an age in which everything is turned into entertainment, perhaps the Biohistory Journal should strive to be entertainment with taste. Okada:   That’s phenomenal! Entertainment in a good sense with taste would be exceptionally good. Nakamura:   But it’s just that I lack a sense of service, so I may not be so good at providing entertainment. Okada:   Also, explanations are a bad idea. That’s not a creative work. Nakamura:   You’re right. That’s because the sense of a creative work implicit in the title of the magazine itself. What shall we do? Nakamura:   This butterfly restaurant (O Shokuso-en) is an expression that links research with daily life. Okada:   Was it Rutherford who said the act of collecting and arranging butterflies, and singing the praises of nature, had no relationship with scholarship?

After the dialogue / Tokindo Okada   I don’t like dialogues very much. There’s not a whole lot I can do in these forums, which have been popular lately. People who are inhibited or shy by nature aren’t suited for them. But it was a different matter altogether to have a dialogue with Ms. Nakamura to commemorate the 50th issue. At a minimum, there is a spirit of seeking a viewpoint different from what is currently popular or in the mainstream. By nature, I am a bit inhibited when it comes to talking or writing about such things. But I was glad to have this opportunity to talk a little about my state of mind now (typical of an old man), which I haven’t spoken or written about before.   The JT Biohistory Research Hall has an innate quietude. This is essentially different from the universities, research institutes, and museums that exist today. It is contrary to our essential nature to evaluate them as having no vitality. But there are festivals once or twice a year, and they are entirely suitable to the elegant atmosphere of this institute. It’s good that there is excitement. Tsutomu Ohashi   Born in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1927. After graduating from Kyoto University with a degree in science, he has taught at Kyoto University, served as the director of the National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, the head of the Okazaki National Research Institutes, and the deputy director of the International Union of Biological Sciences. Prof. Okada was the director of the JT Biohistory Research Hall from 1993 to March 2001. He is a professor emeritus at Kyoto University, the National Institute for Basic Biology, and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies. He is also an advisor emeritus to the JT Biohistory Research Hall. Prof. Okada has received many awards, including the Harrison Award. His primary works include Cell Society and The Blueprints for the Human Body.

Dialogue

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